Surrey County Council fails again

The Care Quality Commission, the government agency in charge of assessing the quality of care available to vulnerable people, has rated the care services provided by Surrey County Council as "adequate" - the lowest rating awarded to Adult Services this year, shared only by another seven Councils in the country. According to their report, Surrey is still in need of special measures and the Council will be closely monitored by the Government to make sure services improve.

Cllr Fiona White, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Adult Services at the County Council, has pointed out in debates during Council meetings that the same failures have been highlighted time and again. Last year's government inspection awarded the Council the lowest possible rating of one star.

Commenting on the Care Quality Commission's report, Cllr Fiona White said: "Although star ratings are no longer awarded, this year is no different. Once again, Surrey County Council appears on a list of councils who have received the lowest rating given with a warning that it must improve its services."

She continued: "The areas where criticism has been levelled are all too familiar: failure to provide equipment and changes to people's homes to enable them to retain their independence; delays in assessing people's needs so that they can receive the services they need and not acting quickly enough to provide care packages once the needs have been identified; failure to provide equally for all people across the County, including people from minority groups and, probably most importantly, a continuing failure to ensure that all staff dealing with the most vulnerable people in Surrey have been trained in safeguarding - the element which makes sure that they are not being abused physically, psychologically or financially."

Ms White added: "The Conservatives tell us that the world would be a wonderful place if they form the next government. We can only judge that on how they behave where they do run things. If they ran the country the way they run Surrey, the future would be very bleak indeed."